1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tire receiving force sensing apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
When a tire receiving force (i.e., a force applied to a tire of a vehicle) can be sensed, it is possible to more accurately perform a vehicle control operation, such as a brake control operation. Therefore, the tire receiving force can be considered as an important state quantity in the vehicle control operation. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-14563 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 6,915,708) teaches an apparatus for sensing the tire receiving force. In this apparatus, a sensing device is provided between a wheel and a hub to measure a tire receiving force.
In the tire receiving force sensing apparatus, since the sensing device is provided between the wheel and the hub, the sensing device needs to be rotated integrally with the wheel and the hub. Thus, the sensing device needs to be installed to the wheel by using tire installation bolts and also needs to be installed to the hub by using hub installation bolts. Thus, the installation operation is not easy.
In addition, since the structure should be modified to enable installation of the above-described bolts, the structure is complicated. In addition, the sensing device includes two separate housings, and the tire receiving force is sensed based on a relative displacement between the housings. Thus, the sensing device needs to have a sensing member, which is received in the housings and measures the relative displacement between the housings. Because of the above construction, the structure is further complicated.